Healthy Tips for Real Families
Here’s what’s on our menu this week:
Monday-Spaghetti w/ Simply Delicious Spaghetti Sauce, salad, garlic bread (I learned this great easy make-ahead garlic bread trick)
Tuesday-Middle Eastern Rice and Lentils
Wednesday- Potato Leek Soup and salad
Thursday- Pita Pizzas, veggie sticks with guacamole for dipping
Friday- broiled sole, steamed green beans, whole wheat couscous, Apple crisp
Saturday- leftover Potato Leek soup
Sunday- frozen pre-made veggie & tuna noodle casserole
As a busy mom of five little ones, I’ll take any help I can get; anything that makes life a teeny bit simpler. Enter: The Casserole.
Casseroles can be assembled when convenient and baked later. They freeze well. We lived on soups and casseroles for a while I’d prepped ahead when baby#5 arrived.
And Mexican food….Love it. But once the little guy became 2 guys and then 3 guys (now 4) who all needed help assembling tacos, we knew something had to be done.
Time to combine the two. How to do it? Simple. Take all your ingredients, layer them in a casserole dish, and bake. It’s as easy as that.
Ex: salsa first (helps to prevent sticking), rice, salsa, beans or meat, cheese if you’re using it, another rice or beans layer, chopped onions & black olives, cracked corn chips w/cheese to brown on top. Serve with lettuce and tomato, guacamole, salsa & sour cream. Yum.
You can sneak veggies in there too. This time I sauteed onion&garlic with eggplant, carrots, and cabbage. Usually I add zucchini but I didn’t have any. You just make them taste “Mexican-y” with salsa, garlic, and lots of onions.
Make your own salsa cheap & easy w/canned crushed tomato, lemon juice, chopped fresh cilantro & chopped onion.